Devices for thermally induced transformations controlled by irradiation of functionalized fullerenes

ABSTRACT

An electromagnetic radiation activated device comprises a property changing material and at least one functionalized fullerene that upon irradiation of the functionalized fullerenes with electromagnetic radiation of one or more frequencies a thermally activated chemical or physical transformation occurs in the property changing material. The thermal activated transformation of the property changing material is triggered by the heating or combustion of the functionalized fullerenes upon their irradiation. The device can include a chemical agent that is embedded in the property changing material and is released when the material is heated by the functionalized fullerenes upon irradiation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/106,355, filed May 12, 2011, which is a continuation-in-part ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/US2009/063719, filed Nov. 9,2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/113,698, filed Nov. 12, 2008, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties, including allfigures, tables or drawings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many processes require an initiation stimulus to start a reaction byreleasing heat, and a device to achieve this goal is a critical systemcomponent for many processes, such as combustion processes. Forcombustion processes many different ignition methods exist, the mostpopular being an electric spark igniter. However, spark igniters requirehigh-energy input supplied by a high-voltage circuitry and by its natureis a single-point stimulus method. Other ignition methods, such asplasma jet injection or flame jet initiation and high-power laserignition, are all bulky, heavy, and expensive to operate.

There have been some recent reports of optical ignition of carbonnanotubes in oxidizing ambient gases, such as in air. For example,researchers have reported that single-walled carbon nanotubes ignitewhen exposed to a conventional photographic flash (Ajayan et al.,“Nanotubes in a Flash-Ignition and Reconstruction”, Science, Vol. 296,Apr. 26, 2002). This photoeffect is disclosed to occur for single-walledcarbon nanotubes prepared by carbon arc, laser ablation, or chemicalvapor deposition techniques upon exposure to a camera flash at closerange. Ignition and burning is reported to occur when local increases intemperature are sufficient to initiate the oxidation of the carbon andpropagate as more heat is released by the exothermic reaction. Heatconfinement in nanostructures can thus lead to drastic structuralreformation and, under oxidizing environments, induce ignition underconditions not expected for bulk materials. The heat pulse is created bylight absorption by the nanotubes from a proximal light flash.

Applications of optical heating or ignition of carbon nanotubes arelimited by several characteristics of carbon nanotubes that includesize, high aspect ratio, insolubility in water or other liquids, andlack of biocompatibility. Compositions are needed that provide radiationinduced heating or ignition in water or other liquids as well as air,have small size and low aspect ratio, and are miscible in a host ofmaterials such that the properties of the materials can be altered bythermal transitions that are promoted photochemically. Moreover,compositions that are biocompatible would allow their use in medicalapplications.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are directed to an electromagneticradiation activated device where a property changing material that canundergo thermally activated chemical or physical transformation iscoupled with at least one functionalized fullerene that heat or combustwhen irradiated with electromagnetic radiation of one or morefrequencies to thermally activate the transformation of the propertychanging material. Radio wave, microwave, infrared, near infrared,visible, ultraviolet, extreme ultraviolet, x-ray, and/or gamma ray ofany single or combination of frequencies can be employed for theirradiation of the functionalized fullerenes. Coherent or incoherentelectromagnetic radiation sources can be employed. Functionalizedfullerenes that can be used in devices include polyhydroxyl fullerenederivatives (PHFs), carboxy fullerenes, N-ethyl-polyamino-C₆₀s, [6,6]phenyl C₆₀ butyric acid methyl esters (PCBMs), fullerene hydrides,N-methyl fulleropyrrolidine, or combinations thereof. Thesefunctionalized fullerenes can be restricted to a surface of the propertychanging material or can be distributed through at least a portion ofthe property change material.

In one embodiment of the invention, property changing materials can betransformed or switched between a plurality of physical states, eachhaving a different discernable degree of crystallinity. In oneembodiment the property changing material comprises a germanium,antimony tellurium chalcogenide alloy (GST) for devices that can beemployed as phase change random access memory (PRAM) chips or RW compactdisc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD) optical storage memory devices.

In some embodiments of the invention the property changing material canbe a plastic, such as polyethylene or polypropylene where the physicaltransformation can be melting and solidification of the plastic by theradiation induced heating of the functionalized fullerenes in contactwith the plastic. The functionalized fullerenes can be contained in atape of the plastic attached as a portion of a device where theremainder of the device is constructed of the plastic free offunctionalized fullerenes. The device can be used for sealing or openingof a container upon irradiation.

In some embodiments of the invention a chemical agent can be included.The chemical agent can be encapsulated by the property changing materialwhere the chemical agent is released upon irradiation of thefunctionalized fullerenes where the property changing material isactivated thermally in the vicinity of the functionalized fullerenes toenhance diffusion of the chemical agent in the property changingmaterial. Devices for biomedical applications can employ propertychanging material that are or are derived from poly(lactic-co-glycolicacid) (PLGA), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), or chitosan to render thematerials biocompatible. The chemical agent can be drugs,nutraceuticals, proteins, hormones, or a combination of these agents.For example, the device can function as a light activated transdermalpatch or an implant to deliver chemical agent such as nicotine, insulin,estrogen, contraceptives, pain killers, antidepressants or other drug.

In one embodiment the chemical agent can be a drug that promotescoagulation. The device can be delivered to an aneurysm where the drugcan be released upon irradiation to promote clotting in the aneurysm. Inanother embodiment the property changing material can be a polymericcoating on a stent where the chemical agent is an immunosuppressive drugdispersed in the coating for release upon irradiation. In anotherembodiment the property changing material is a polymer coated upon seedsor a particle dispersed with seeds where hormones, insecticides,herbicides, fertilizers or minerals are included as chemical agentswithin the coating or particles to promote uniform germination of theseeds after irradiation of the functionalized fullerenes.

In another embodiment, the property changing material can be one or morethermally activated dyes absorbed on paper or within a polymeric coatingon paper. Upon irradiation, the functionalized fullerenes promote acolor change in the dyes that are heated in the vicinity of thefunctionalized fullerenes such that images or text can be formed on thepaper. The color and opacity of the dyes can be modified after printingthrough the application irradiation induced thermal energy.

In another embodiment of the invention a method of destroying tumorsinvolves providing a plurality of functionalized fullerenes conjugatedwith a tumor targeting agent, delivering the functionalized fullerenesto an organism having at least one tumor, and irradiating thefunctionalized fullerenes with radio waves such that the functionalizedfullerenes that have targeted the tumors heat and destroy the tumors.

In another embodiment of the invention, a method for detonating anexplosion involves providing a plurality of functionalized fullerenes onor in at least a portion of an explosive material and irradiating thefunctionalized fullerenes with electromagnetic radiation to ignite thefunctionalized fullerenes to cause the detonation of the explosivematerial. The irradiation source can be attached to the explosive deviceor can be remote to the device. The explosive devices can be employedfor defense, demolition, construction, mining or firework applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plot of the temperature rise of samples comprisingfunctionalized fullerenes according to embodiments of the invention thatare dissolved or suspended in water during irradiation with RF at 13.56MHz and 500 W RF power over a period of five minutes.

FIG. 2 is a bar graph of the temperature rise of samples comprisingfunctionalized fullerenes according to embodiments of the invention thatare dissolved or suspended in water after irradiation with RF at 13.56MHz and 500 W RF power for 30 seconds (left bars) and 60 seconds (rightbars).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a property changingmaterial that can undergo a thermally induced chemical reaction, a shiftin a chemical equilibrium, a physical phase transition, or a change indegree of a physical property with temperature that is photoactivated byirradiation with a sufficient intensity of electromagnetic radiation dueto the inclusion of functionalized fullerenes in the property changingmaterial that heat upon absorption of the radiation. In some embodimentsthe thermally induced transition can be a chemical reaction that changesa few bonds within the property changing material without altering thechemical nature of the majority of the material, for example wherecross-linking is destroyed by a thermal reaction. Physical propertytransitions that can be exploited according to embodiments of theinvention include, but are not exclusive to melting, crystallizing,solubilizing, glass transitions, liquid crystalline transformations, andmiscibility of blended material or block copolymer phases.

The functionalized fullerenes are irradiated with electromagneticradiation having a wavelength and intensity sufficient to heat or evencombust the functionalized fullerenes. Functionalized fullerenes can beincluded by disposing the particles on or within the material thatundergoes thermally induced property changes. For example, in someembodiments of the invention, the functionalized fullerenes can berandomly or periodically dispersed through out a property changingmaterial that is to be modified. In other embodiments of the invention,the functionalized fullerenes are restricted to a specific region of astructure of the material to be modified. In other embodiments of theinvention, the functionalized fullerenes can be randomly or periodicallydisposed on a surface of the material to be modified. In someembodiments of the invention, one or more selected portions of thesurface can be decorated with the functionalized fullerenes.

As has been recently discovered, Krishna et al., PCT/US2007/084956,filed Nov. 16, 2007, incorporated herein in its entirety, functionalizedfullerenes heat, ignite or combust without the need for a spark, flameor other conventional initiator to produce significant local heatingwhen irradiated by a suitable source. Heating or ignition can occur in agaseous, liquid, or solid environment. A bright flash of visible lightcan be observed before combustion and, in some embodiments of theinvention where oxygen in the vicinity of the functionalized fullerenesis controlled, the functionalized fullerenes can be used for devicesthat exploit the observed luminescence.

Suitable irradiation sources are those which provide sufficient energyfor the desired degree of heating, lamination or combustion. Theelectronic states and transitions of fullerenes are near the interfacebetween discrete molecular orbitals and band structures due to the largenumber of electrons in π orbitals. Because many electronic transitionsare accessible, embodiments of the present invention can use manydifferent wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum for excitation ofthe functionalized fullerenes. Hence, excitation can occur with theabsorption of a sufficiently intense source of radiation in a wavelengthrange of about 10³ to about 10⁻¹² m, encompassing radio wave, microwave,IR, Visible, UV, X-ray, and gamma ray irradiation.

Fullerenes are generally in the form of a spheroidal carbon comprisingstructure and are thus distinct from carbon nanotubes, which areessentially tubes with graphene surfaces. In contrast to the surface ofcarbon nanotubes, fullerenes have both five carbon and six carbon ringstructures. Carbon nanotubes and fullerenes are physically andchemically stable molecules. Unlike carbon nanotubes and fullerenes,functionalized fullerenes are known to be biocompatible and can havetherapeutic properties.

The term “fullerenes” defines a general class of molecules that existsessentially in the shape of a three dimensional polyhedron containingfrom 20 to 1500 carbon atoms, and which comprises carbon atoms as thepredominant atomic moiety from which they are composed. The fullerenecomprising molecules include but are not limited to fullerenes such asC-28, C-32, C-44, C-50, C-58, C-60, C-70, C-84, C-94, C-250 and C-540.According to this nomenclature, a fullerene containing 60 carbon atomsis denoted C-60 and a fullerene containing 70 carbon atoms is denotedC-70. The functionalized fullerenes for purposes of the invention aresubstituted fullerenes. These are molecular fullerenes which have one ormore functional groups bound to the fullerene cage via covalent bonds,ionic bonds, Dewar bonds, Kubas interactions, or mixtures of thesebonds. Functionalized fullerenes have side groups attached to thepolyhedron. The side groups can be either inorganic, including but notexclusive to —OH, —Br, —H, —Ti, or organic, including but not exclusiveto —C(COOH)₂ or combinations of organic and/or inorganic side groups.The number of side groups attached per cage of fullerene can vary from 1to a majority of the number of carbons in the fullerene cage.Functionalized fullerenes have different physical and chemicalproperties based on the type and number of side groups. Thefunctionalized fullerenes have dimensions that can be in excess of ananometer in diameter, and can be considered nanoparticles.

Polyhydroxy fullerene derivatives (PHF), for example C-60(OH)_(n)(n=1-48), also referred to as fullerols or fullerenols, can be used inembodiments of the invention. The number of —OH groups, n, is typicallybetween 1 and 48. Polyhydroxy fullerene derivatives can be furtherderivatized to form other functionalized fullerenes according toembodiments of the invention. For example, the OH group can be convertedinto ethers or esters to yield functionalized fullerenes with enhancedmiscibility in aqueous or non-aqueous environments.

In some embodiments of the invention, carboxy fullerenes, for exampleformula C₆₀(C(COOH)₂)₃, are water soluble and are reported to havetherapeutic properties by Dugan et al. (Proc. Natl Acad. Sci., 1997 Vol94, 9434-9439). Carboxy fullerenes can be further derivatized, forexample by esterification or amidation reactions, to form otherfunctionalized fullerenes for use in various embodiments of theinvention.

Other exemplary functionalized fullerenes include N-ethyl-polyamino-C₆₀,[6,6] phenyl C₆₀ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), fullerene hydride andN-methyl fulleropyrrolidine. Certain polymer chains can also be used asfunctional groups.

In one embodiment of the invention, functionalized fullerenes aredisposed as a layer on a property changing material that can be rapidlyswitched between two or more states, for example, a germanium, antimonytellurium chalcogenide alloy (GST). The property changing material canbe addressed by a laser beam. The energy from the laser beam causes thefunctionalized fullerenes to generate heat that causes the material tocycle between at least one phase to at least one other phase, which inthe limit can be two phases, one being primarily crystalline and anotherprimarily amorphous. The process of switching from one phase to anothercan occur rapidly, in about 5 nanoseconds or less. When the irradiationwith electromagnetic radiation is of sufficient energy and maintainedfor a sufficient period of time, heating of a crystalline GST occurs toa temperature that causes melting of crystals, which upon cessation ofthe irradiation cools rapidly to a temperature below the crystallizationtemperature and traps the site in an amorphous state that has highelectrical resistivity and a first refractive index and/or reflectivity.This amorphous material can then be irradiated with the same or anothersource of electromagnetic radiation, at the same or a differentwavelength, for an appropriate period of time to promote heating to atemperature that is above the crystallization temperature yet below themelting point, such that the property changing material achieves acrystalline state that has a low resistivity and a second refractiveindex and/or reflectivity. Because of these differences in resistivityand refractive index for the different phases, the property changingmaterial that is decorated with functionalized fullerenes can be used asphase change random access memory (PRAM) chip or RW compact disc (CD) ordigital video disc (DVD) optical storage memory device.

The cycling between the two states can be carried out with a lightsource that is external to the PRAM chip, CD or DVD. The device can beconstructed to be small in footprint, simple in design and low in powerconsumption. In other embodiments of the invention, the GST can beirradiated in a manner where one or more additional phases that are lessthan maximally amorphous or maximally crystalline are achieved. In theseembodiments of the invention, one or more irradiation protocols that donot result in a fully amorphous or fully crystalline state are carriedout to achieve one or more states with desired degrees ofcrystallization. For example, irradiating an amorphous state at aspecific frequency, intensity and time allows the achievement of aspecific temperature for a specific period of time that results in aspecific partially crystalline GST with a resistivity and refractiveindex that is discernibly different than that of the maximallyamorphous, maximally crystalline or other discernable partiallycrystalline states. In this manner, a chip or optical storage memorydevice can be constructed where every site on the device can switchbetween three or more states, allowing a dramatically larger informationdensity than a device that has sites that switch between two states. Ifnecessary, an optical storage memory device can be irradiated from oneface where the functionalized fullerenes are addressed to generate thephase change, and be irradiated from another side to read theinformation from the property changing material such that the propertychanging material blocks any electromagnetic radiation that would excitethe functionalized fullerenes and modify the information encoded in theproperty changing material in an undesired manner. The surface of thefunctionalized fullerene layer counter the property changing materialcan be coated with a material that acts as an oxygen barrier but istransparent to the electromagnetic radiation required for switchingbetween states.

In other embodiments of the invention, a property changing material thatcomprises a plastic can have a dispersion of functionalized fullereneswithin or on the surface of the plastic. Common thermoplastics,including, but not exclusive to, polyethylene and polypropylene can beused. In this manner, a container can be constructed to allow sealingupon irradiating the functionalized fullerenes of the property changematerial. In one embodiment of the invention, the functionalizedfullerenes can be dispersed in or on a particular portion of thecontainer and in another embodiment the functionalized fullerenes can bedispersed throughout the plastic of the entire container. The containercan be sealed completely when the property changing material melts andresolidifies. In one embodiment the functionalized fullerenes can be ina tape in the proximity to the opening of the container such that thetape can be irradiated with a hand held irradiation source, such as alaser pen, an IR wand or other lamp to soften or melt the propertychange material. The container employing the tape need not be a singlepiece, but can consist of a body and a lid where the tape is placedbetween the body of the container and the lid to produce a seal. Inanother embodiment of the invention where the functionalized fullerenesare dispersed throughout plastic that comprises the container,irradiation of the functionalized fullerenes can soften or melt theentire container such that it can conform to the surface of a solid itemto be packaged. A partial or complete vacuum can be imposed within thecontainer such that the sealing can be induced to make intimate ornearly intimate contact between the item and container.

In embodiments of the invention, the property changing material is apolymeric material or other material that includes functionalizedfullerenes and acts as an encapsulant. The functionalized fullerenespromote a change in the permeability of the material to an encapsulatedchemical agent upon irradiation. In various embodiments of theinvention, the encapsulated chemical agents can be drugs,nutraceuticals, proteins, hormones, or other natural products that maybe of therapeutic value and the polymeric material can be a common drugdelivery vehicle, such as PLGA, PEG, chitosan, or dendrimers, or can bea polymeric material specifically designed for a specific chemicalagent, such as a functional polymer, block copolymer, network ordendrimer. Any mode by which permeability can be thermally changed canbe employed. For example, the permeability can be enhanced for releaseon demand by having a thermally labile cross-link or other chain-linkelement within the polymeric material, such that it is rendered a poorerbarrier to diffusion upon irradiation due to the degradation of bondswithin the resin. Where these chain-link elements can exist in twodifferent states (a bound state and an unbound state) depending upontemperature, the proportion of the elements in the two states can bephotochemically biased that upon excitation of the functionalizedfullerenes release is enabled. In one embodiment of the invention, theproperty changing material can be switched to render the encapsulantswater soluble, water swellable or increase the encapsulants swellabilityand permeability upon irradiation. The encapsulants can comprise anon-property changing material that has a property changing materialdispersed or bonded to it. For example, a property changing material inthe form of small micro or nanoparticle, such as spheres or cylindricalrods, can be dispersed in a continuous phase that will not undergo asignificant phase change thermally, such that the particles are renderedwater soluble or swellable upon irradiation and form effective poresthrough which the encapsulated molecule can diffuse.

In one embodiment of the invention, the property changing material andfunctionalized fullerene comprising encapsulant can be employed as atransdermal patch for an encapsulated chemical agent. Such transdermalpatches can be employed for the release of nicotine, insulin, estrogen,contraceptives, pain killers, antidepressants or any other drug orchemical agent that can be delivered through the skin. The rate of drugrelease can be controlled by the intensity and frequency ofelectromagnetic radiation delivered to the patch. For example, as theconcentration of the chemical agent decreases within the patch, the rateof delivery for a given state of the property changing material willdecrease. In one embodiment of the invention, upon irradiation of theproperty change material the permeability can be increased to compensatefor the decrease in concentration such that a more constant rate ofrelease can be achieved over the effective lifetime of the patch. Inanother embodiment of the invention, the property changing material isonly permeable when under irradiation, and dosing can be carried out ondemand by exposure of the patch to electromagnetic radiation.

In another embodiment of the invention, the property changing materialcan be employed as a subcutaneous delivery vehicle for a chemical agent.In this manner, an implant comprising the chemical agent encapsulated inthe property changing material with functionalized fullerenes can beactivated upon irradiation with electromagnetic radiation other thaninfrared to promote diffusion of the chemical agent from the implant byallowing selective heating of the implant without significantly heatingthe tissue around the implant, as occurs by infrared heating.

In another embodiment of the invention, the property changing materialencapsulated chemical agent comprises a polymeric gel containing drugsand functionalized fullerenes. Blood cells can be encapsulated with thedrug if desired. This gel material can be delivered via a catheter orneedle to an aneurysm for uses as an alternative treatment to surgicalclipping or endovascular coiling. After the gel material has beendelivered to the aneurysm, irradiation can be used to release the drugand promote coagulation of blood, forming a clot that effectivelyeliminates the aneurysm.

In another embodiment of the invention, the property changing materialcomprises a polymeric coating with included functionalized fullerenes asa coating on a stent. The coating contains a drug that can be releasedwhen irradiated to enhance the diffusivity of the immunosuppressive drugthrough the coating. As desired, the drug can be released from thecoating by irradiation such that restenosis of a blood vessel in thevicinity of a stent can be inhibited.

In an embodiment of the invention, the chemical agent encapsulated in aproperty changing material including functionalized fullerenes can beemployed for agricultural uses. In one embodiment, seeds can be coatedwith an encapsulated chemical agent comprising one or more hormones thatbreaks down dormancy or promotes germination, insecticides, herbicides,fertilizers, minerals or other agents. In one embodiment of theinvention, water or aqueous solutions can be encapsulated. In otherembodiments of the invention, seeds can be packaged with dispersedparticles of the encapsulated chemical agents or the encapsulatedchemical agents can be dispersed over soil where seeds have been freshlyplanted. In this manner, a more uniform germination of a crop can beinduced by irradiation due to the release of encapsulated chemicalagents because the permeability of the property changing material hasbeen increased thermally. In this manner, higher quantities andqualities of crops can be achieved.

In other embodiments of the invention, property change materials areused with functionalized fullerenes that are applied in a coating onpaper. The property changing materials are one or more heat sensitiveinks that reside in the coating or are absorbed on the paper under thecoating. A scanning of the coating by a laser beam causes transformationof one or more essentially colorless inks into colored inks on theportions of the paper surface that are irradiated to form the image, forexample text, on the paper. Alternately, light can be transmittedthrough a mask to generate the image without scanning.

In another embodiment of the invention, the property changing materialsare individually encapsulated cyan, magenta, and yellow inks wheredifferent functionalized fullerenes reside with specific inks within theencapsulating material. A device can be constructed where theseencapsulated dyes and functionalized fullerenes are dispersed on asurface which can be used as a reversible paper. Colored Inks could bedesigned to form a color by photolytic transformation and to bleach by athermal transformation or vice versa. Hence by addressing a selectedsite on the surface with the appropriate frequency and intensity toselectively photolytically excite one state of an ink or photolyticallyexcite its associated functionalized fullerene a specific color iseither turned on or off at that site. By addressing multiple sites onthe paper with different frequencies, desired images can be constructedor erased. The sites can be addressed by scanning with one or morelasers or projecting all different frequencies from a single source. Theirradiation source can be in the form of an “electronic pencil” formanual imaging or can be a table, electronic tablet or printer builtinto a laptop computer upon which the device having a surface, such as asheet of “electronic paper” can be laid or inserted. The printing headcould operate similar to a scanner and fax when the paper is scannedthen imprinted with an image in one pass through the printer. Theprinter could also be capable of printing an image on both sides of theelectronic paper at one time.

In another embodiment of the invention functionalized fullerenes areconjugated with a tumor targeting agent. The functionalized fullerenes,for example, polyhydroxy fullerenes (PHF), can be irradiated with radiowaves to generate heat or ignite to destroy the tumor cells byhyperthermia. Functionalized fullerenes can be circulated through thebody until naturally expelled, as PHFs and some other functionalizedfullerenes are not toxic.

Functionalized fullerenes can be ignited with light or even radio waves.In various embodiments of the invention, functionalized fullerenes canbe included with a phase change material that comprises an explodingcharge. This can allow the remote activation of the charge uponirradiation. The phase change material is the explosive which containsfunctionalized fullerenes at a specific site on the explosive materialor dispersed throughout the material. A laser beam can be focused on asite with the functionalized fullerenes or scanned over the surface ofthe material to initiate the decomposition of the explosive material. Inone embodiment of the invention, the materials can be used in a weaponor other device for defense applications or can be used in construction,demolition, mining or fireworks where detonation can be carried out ondemand from a safe remote location when a light is directed on thefunctionalized fullerenes. The laser source can be remote or attached tothe detonating charge and can be remote to or in the presence of theindividual who controls the initiation of the explosion.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Experimental Setup

Heating of a volume of water by irradiation of fullerene comprisingcompounds was carried out using a radiofrequency (RF) heating system(Therm Med, LLC, Erie, Pa.) operating at 13.56 MHz and 500 W RF power. Avolume of 250 μL of sample dissolved or suspended in water was pipettedinto a cylindrical quartz cuvette for RF exposure. The cuvette wasplaced on a thin horizontal Teflon sample holder positioned at a depthof 7.6 cm from RF generator.

Samples Tested

-   Water Millipore Water (Blank)-   Au 5 nm gold nanoparticles (Control)-   FN Pristine C₆₀ dispersed in Millipore water-   FH Fullerene hydride dispersed in Millipore water-   FBr Fullerene bromide dispersed in Millipore water-   GdF Gadofullerene dispersed in Millipore water-   CF Carboxy fullerene solution-   PBU Polyhydroxy fullerenes purchased from BuckyUSA-   PMER Polyhydroxy fullerenes synthesized at PERC-   PAG Polyhydroxy fullerenes synthesized at PERC-   CP1 PBU nanoparticles-   CP2 PAG nanoparticles-   CII Chitosan solution in 1% acetic acid    Results

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2:

Water: No temperature rise is observed.

-   Gold: Gold nanoparticles exhibit a temperature rise of 58° C. in one    minute.-   FN: Pristine fullerenes did not show a temperature rise, which is    consistent with observations with laser irradiation. Pristine    fullerenes are not water soluble and float on the water surface.-   FH: Fullerene hydride did not show a temperature rise, which is    consistent with observations with laser irradiation. Fullerene    hydride is not water soluble and float on the water surface.-   FBr: Fullerene bromide did not show a temperature rise, which is    consistent with observations with laser irradiation. Fullerene    bromide is not water soluble and float on the water surface.-   GdF: Gadofullerenes (Gd@C₈₂) exhibited a temperature rise of 10° C.    in 5 minutes. Gadofullerenes are not water soluble and float on the    water surface.-   CF: Carboxy fullerene solution heated the solution to 55° C. in one    minute (ΔT=32.4° C.) and 72° C. in 5 minutes.-   PBU, PMER and PAG: Temperature rise was observed with polyhydroxy    fullerenes solutions. The heating rate depended on the type of    polyhydroxy fullerene with the highest temperature rise of 32° C. in    one minute.-   CP1 and CP2: Polyhydroxy fullerenes in nanoparticulate form exhibit    a higher temperature rise than in solution. Temperature rise with    CP2 was 36° C. in one minute.-   CII: A temperature rise of 29° C. in one minute was observed for a    chitosan solution that does not heat under laser irradiation.

All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, andpublications referred to or cited herein, supra or infra, areincorporated by reference in their entirety, including all figures andtables, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicitteachings of this specification.

It should be understood that the examples and embodiments describedherein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modificationsor changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in theart and are to be included within the spirit and purview of thisapplication.

We claim:
 1. An electromagnetic radiation activated memory devicecomprising: a property changing material; and at least onefunctionalized fullerene selected from the group consisting ofpolyhydroxy fullerene derivatives (PHFs), N ethyl-polyamino-C₆₀s,fullerene hydrides, N-methyl fulleropyrrolidine, or combinationsthereof, wherein the functionalized fullerene is on a surface of theproperty changing material or is distributed through at least a portionof the property change material, wherein irradiation of saidfunctionalized fullerene with electromagnetic radiation of one or morefrequencies generates heat, and wherein said heat is transferred to saidproperty changing material, which transforms between an amorphous and acrystalline state upon heating, wherein said property changing materialcomprises a germanium antimony tellurium chaleofzenide alloy (GST). 2.The device of claim 1, wherein said electromagnetic radiation activatedmemory device is a phase change random access memory (PRAM) chip, a RWcompact disc (CD), or a digital video disc (DVD) optical storage memorydevice.